Pats have two for show <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>FOXBORO - Tom Brady [stats] wants to rebound from a less-than-Brady-like performance against the Jets. The Pats, as a whole, want to get back to playing the kind of football they were playing earlier in the season, the kind they are noted for in December. That’s their spin. But everyone outside the cocoon Bill Belichick has built around his team can see what the last two games really are about: setting records and making history. With home field locked up, the stretch run is about finishing the regular season with a perfect 16-0 mark. It’s about Brady breaking Peyton Manning’s single-season touchdown record (49), and Randy Moss eclipsing Jerry Rice’s single-season mark for TD catches (22). And that’s just the beginning of all the records that could fall Sunday against the Miami Dolphins [team stats] or the following Saturday against the New York Giants. Brady, in fact, remains on target for several more meaningful marks. Even with last week’s subpar effort (14-for-27, 140 yards, no TDs) in rainy, windy conditions, Brady still has a chance to set the standard for single-season passer rating, completions and completion percentage. Actually, if you think about it, what Brady and the Pats want to do goes hand-in-hand with what everyone else thinks these last two games are about. One of the trends that has developed during Brady’s career is that he often is at his best after playing his worst. After a game in which he was criticized for focusing on Randy Moss too much, it will be interesting to see how he responds against Miami. “I think, as an offense, that any time we don’t perform as well as we’d like, we’re coached pretty hard and we try to go out there and play better the next week,” Brady said yesterday. “There are a lot of factors why things don’t go the way that they do, and we can evaluate the mistakes that we make and how to go out and correct them. I’ll focus on what I need to do, and I think my teammates will focus on the things that they need to do.” That focus always has driven the Pats quarterback to succeed, and few teams have gotten in his way. The Dolphins, who likely will be without Brady nemesis Jason Taylor (foot) on Sunday, don’t seem to stand a chance. As for the rest of the players, they also aren’t happy with their play against the Jets. And more importantly, Belichick isn’t pleased with them. Yesterday, the coach had them in the stadium, working in pads. And that was after he lit into them during a meeting. “Everybody came in today thinking what kind of day we were going to have, (and) in the team meeting, we got about 45 minutes of humble pie,” Asante Samuel [stats] said. “Nobody expected it. I mean, he was just giving it to us, showing us what we need to do better, and everybody pops up on the tape. . . . He just wanted us to see that and realize that we need to improve in certain situations if we want to be a good team.” The performance has to improve, starting with the 1-13 Dolphins. That’s where the records come in. The Pats need just 34 more points to become the NFL’s highest-scoring team in a single season. They also need four more touchdowns to set that mark. Think those won’t happen with Belichick cracking the whip, Brady hellbent on improving, and with other players striving to get themselves back on track? Think the goals aren’t somehow aligned? Of course they are. The records might go unspoken in the locker room, but if everything falls into place, it all works together.</div>
<span style="font-family:Microsoft Sans Serif">I think I need to petition Denny to require warnings for any thread started about a Kathy G. article. I don't think the Boston Herald could find a less objective columnist unless they start hiring crack whores. Someone needs to explain to her that all of those records won't mean diddly-poo if the Patriots don't win it all. Nothing at stake? Of course not. There's no way that any important Patriot players, like Brady, could sustain any injuries late in a meaningless game.</span>
If you ask me CK is engaging in a little procactive damage control. That way if the pats lose the games can be written off as "meaningless". Especially, if Miami beats NE like they did in '05.
